Lessons Not Quite Learned
by YamiJessi
Summary: Not every lesson is learned in class, some are more difficult to comprehend. HondaxOtogi almostyaoi. Could almost be a friendshipfic, but a little more implied. Could be set before Just Part of the Equation, but wasn't intended as such.


Meme fic request on LJ from Ash.

Line: 'I almost envy people like that'  
Pairing: HondaxOtogi, well...kinda. It's like...pre-Chaseshipping? XD And yeah...I'm really bad at trying to write Otogi's personality. o.o But...at any rate...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh...you probably guessed that already. o.o

* * *

There were few things that dulled all hints of interest in the deep brown gaze of Honda like the promise of class, at least as a general rule. That was the forth most reason he avoided the issue until the last second, taking far too long to linger near the cold steel of his locker with the excuse that he needed to find whatever object came to mind at the time of said excuse until even the most patient of his friends had wandered away.

Not that he strived to be left alone; he simply enjoyed the chance to gather his thoughts before the onslaught of textbooks and baffling equations.

Besides, there were enough lessons, so to speak, to be learned in the hallways.

As he watched in silence a group of younger girls giggle in the opposite corner of the walkway he mused that today's lesson was going to be a soap opera.  
And sure enough, in a matter of moments there were a shaky few steps forward as one of the bright-eyed females approached a nearby boy with all the intent of a she-wolf stalking her prey. Moments beyond that the world was all smiles and shy laughs as hands were held in a reserved manner.

Apparently all the world loved a happy, if not sappy, ending.

He was tempted to roll his eyes but settled instead for a mutter. "I almost envy people like that."  
It was a simple remark, little else, but it also spurred motion near the young man's side that he had neglected to notice before that moment. Motion that was coupled with a question that simply dripped with smirking amusement covered poorly with fake bewilderment.

"You find yourself envying a lot of girls? Be reasonable, she's not _that_ much prettier than you."

The voice Honda knew in an instant, few others had quite that flicker of subtle murmur that would have screamed seduction if not so strongly tied with far too much self-assurance for the brunette's tastes. And beyond just the voice there was of course the visual confirmation of a swish of deep blue-black hair in silky waves that brushed past Honda's nose almost near enough to cause him to sneeze as the shorter male glided by in catlike strides. No, there was no mistaking Otogi for anyone else, and that fact in itself put Honda on the defensive swiftly.

"Shouldn't you be busy doing your hair or nails before class?" He tried to shove some annoyance into his tone but it was too flat to have the total effect, so he tried to cover that fact with seeming too busy to bother as he went back to digging through his locker. "And I didn't mean it like that anyway; you should know it's rude to eavesdrop on people."

All the brunette received for his efforts was the lift of a slender brow and a sly smirk stretched over the visage of the other male as he reached past a startled Honda and into the locker to pluck out a book with an eased motion of his wrist.  
"I wasn't aware that it was a private conversation, you have those often with yourself?" The smirk faded into a mask of innocent entertainment that Honda was certain would have put even Yuugi's best attempt at the same to shame. He tried to ignore the action, and the other male altogether, as he squared his shoulders and went into stoic silence. He honestly hoped that the state would last until the bell rang out but that hope was dashed quickly.

"So what did you mean?"

The words were voiced in a curious tone as glittered green eyes regarded him over the edge of the stolen biology book, and at first the taller male was not certain if they were actually spoken or just his own mind amusing itself. Then he caught a glimpse of waiting in a sea of emerald and felt trapped with nothing to do but answer the question. It was funny how there was still something so honest in Otogi's gaze that it made a person want to speak to him, Honda was not so sure the older teen did not possess some odd ability to sway people with just his voice.

"I just meant….people like that have it easy. People who can just talk to everyone else about things like that." And he put up a valiant effort of sounding annoyed and disinterested in the entire situation as he offered the words quickly, maybe a little too rushed because it only caused another Cheshire expression from Otogi.

"It's all lust, you know?"

"Excuse me?" He had to fight to keep the bewildered and dumbfounded sputter out of his voice, brown eyes angled a little higher at being taken off guard.

"All of that." There was a quick flick of a slender hand in the direction of the apparent new couple nearby. "Which is shallow, but that's what people want isn't it?" The way that 'people' was emphasized in the statement made Honda uncomfortable for some reason he could not put his finger on and he just managed a half nod in response.  
A second later jade eyes flickered dark hues as a sly smile slipped into something that made the taller male even less comfortable. He shifted the books around some in his arms to distract himself while committing to mind that Otogi had to be some manner of strange demon or the like, he was simply too….well... Honda could not fathom the right word but there was without a doubt something about the willowy male that made him feel odd. He held strong to his intent to not let that slip of thought show in the least, barely able to keep up the guise.

The other male, apparently finished with the strange conversation, slipped past just enough to drop the book on top of the others Honda held. "Class starts soon, you really should get going."  
With nothing more to say and a curl of motion that reminded Honda a great deal of some feline basking in the glow of catching a particularly difficult mouse, the raven-haired boy strolled away.

Alone again, and this time left without even a word to say even to himself, Honda stood there for a long moment. Finally the metallic scream of the morning bell startled him into movement, books crashing to the ground as he failed in his attempts to catch them before they smacked into the tiles below. And for once he was glad to race to class and deal with the perplexing equations and difficult lectures, at least he stood a chance of figuring out the meaning behind _those_ lessons.


End file.
